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Lovage

Tuesday 1 February 2011by Wulf

I was previously aware of lovage as a plant (Levisticum officinale) but was intrigued last night to see a cordial of the same name, touted as an old English concoction. Intrigued and, yes, tempted enough to pick up a bottle to take home and sample.

Unadulterated it is incredibly sweet, a tingling of herbal flavour around a syrup core — very pleasant but definitely not for imbibing in quantity. However, I only had a tiny sip so decided to press on with the idea suggested on the bottle of mixing it with brandy. That was very successful; the brandy took away the over-unctuous sweetness resulting in a mix that was incredibly smooth and mellow. I can easily see how that would work as a fantastic winter warmer.

Another experiment, not mentioned on the bottle was trying a few more drops in some milk. Gosh! That was like liquid condensed milk. I decided to stop there before curiosity pushed me through the sugar barrier but I am very impressed with this new discovery (and, at the same time, tempted to see if I can find space for some Levisticum officinale in the garden).

One Comment

That sounds wonderful. We have Lovage -it grows very high-but I’ve only ever used it in soups, stocks and stews. I know it’s a digestive (not the McVitie variety).
Thanks for this post, I think I shall be trying to make some cordial this year!